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elliecarr97's review against another edition
4.5
Ducks, Newburyport is an inner monologue of an Ohio housewife. From pies to gun violence, this is in depth and detailed narrative of one person’s anxieties, memories, and life.
This book is LONG - 1001 pages to be exact. I did cheat somewhat by listening to it on audible, although this was over 46 hours, much longer than it would have taken me to read it. There are few breaks in text, as well as lots of listing. If you read the book from start to finish and did a shot every time she says “the fact that”, you’d probably get alcohol poisoning.
Being inside this characters mind really makes you feel as if you know her. Ellmann uses a character who seems to be overlooked by most to comment on topics such as gun violence, racism, and climate change. I feel like I know the protagonist so well, and although the assumed audience is actually herself, since we witness her inner thoughts, it feels as if there is a relationship between her and the reader.
I would recommend this tentatively, because although I enjoyed it and think it’s a unique and excellent piece of literature, it is lengthy and some readers have called it tedious. The stream of consciousness style for this length of narrative is a huge achievement by Ellmann regardless.
This book is LONG - 1001 pages to be exact. I did cheat somewhat by listening to it on audible, although this was over 46 hours, much longer than it would have taken me to read it. There are few breaks in text, as well as lots of listing. If you read the book from start to finish and did a shot every time she says “the fact that”, you’d probably get alcohol poisoning.
Being inside this characters mind really makes you feel as if you know her. Ellmann uses a character who seems to be overlooked by most to comment on topics such as gun violence, racism, and climate change. I feel like I know the protagonist so well, and although the assumed audience is actually herself, since we witness her inner thoughts, it feels as if there is a relationship between her and the reader.
I would recommend this tentatively, because although I enjoyed it and think it’s a unique and excellent piece of literature, it is lengthy and some readers have called it tedious. The stream of consciousness style for this length of narrative is a huge achievement by Ellmann regardless.
kkgarrett's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
cameronwaller's review against another edition
5.0
If in the future someone asks me what it was like to live through these modern times, I will simply place this thick tome in their outstretched palms, plant a light loving kiss atop their forehead, and bid them go ... *whisper* be well.
To have had something as consistent as Ducks, Newburyport to accompany me through the incredibly inconsistent summer of 2020 was a true blessing. I'm left feeling quite sad that I must now leave this book and this narrator in the past. By the end I felt as though my biometrics had fused to the rhythms of the prose. Simply put: I loved this book. A once in a lifetime reading experience.
To have had something as consistent as Ducks, Newburyport to accompany me through the incredibly inconsistent summer of 2020 was a true blessing. I'm left feeling quite sad that I must now leave this book and this narrator in the past. By the end I felt as though my biometrics had fused to the rhythms of the prose. Simply put: I loved this book. A once in a lifetime reading experience.
justinmurray's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kp68's review against another edition
3.0
I'm really not sure how to rate this novel, I felt both annoyed and entertained in equal measure throughout, mainly due to the way it was written.
I see the format as both a negative, repetitive and difficult for me to maintain focus; and also a positive, in that it's original and doesn't leave you feeling totally crushed by the state of the goings on in today's world.
The novel touches on so many issues of concern to me that if I dwell too long on them, make me feel a real sense of helplessness.
Perhaps this format is the perfect way to deal with that. Touching on topics of concern then veering away before the reader has a chance of becoming overwhelmed with the gravity. A lot of it is quite frivolous but hidden among the silliness is a lot of darkness.
Overall I enjoyed reading it but I do think the author's point could quite easily have been made in far fewer pages as by the end I started to feel quite irritated and just wanted it to be over. I am glad I finished it, though I'm not sure it's something I'd recommend to others.
I see the format as both a negative, repetitive and difficult for me to maintain focus; and also a positive, in that it's original and doesn't leave you feeling totally crushed by the state of the goings on in today's world.
The novel touches on so many issues of concern to me that if I dwell too long on them, make me feel a real sense of helplessness.
Perhaps this format is the perfect way to deal with that. Touching on topics of concern then veering away before the reader has a chance of becoming overwhelmed with the gravity. A lot of it is quite frivolous but hidden among the silliness is a lot of darkness.
Overall I enjoyed reading it but I do think the author's point could quite easily have been made in far fewer pages as by the end I started to feel quite irritated and just wanted it to be over. I am glad I finished it, though I'm not sure it's something I'd recommend to others.
tshrope's review against another edition
3.0
The fact that I liked the first half of this book. The fact that I thought it was original and I could relate to the stream of consciousness of random thoughts and stories. The fact that there is so much repetition that the book could have been 20 hours of audio instead of 42 hours if you take out most of the repetition. The fact that I understand the repetition shows what her obsessions are. The fact that I don't think we need 500 extra pages of the same repetitions to prove the point. The fact that I speeded this up the audio book 2x's to get through it. The fact that this needed a better editor and it would have been DUCKY!
readingweird's review against another edition
5.0
It took me four months to read this book. Four months of my reading pattern mimicking the spiraling interior voice of maybe my favorite narrator of all time: from frenzy to fatigue and back again. I thought I was done with the maximalist novel, thought I’d seen all there was to see, and was skeptical that the form had anything left to offer me. Ellman did the impossible work of reclaiming the maximalist form for the sort of reader who’s never been invited inside of it before: the homemaker, the domestic woman, the housewife, the mother. It’s not just about her, it’s FOR her. But the novel’s strength lies in the realization that its preoccupations should be ours, should be yours, and we would do well to take note of what this narrator obsessively worries over: shootings, domestic violence, the mass murder of baby chicks, climate change, Laura Ingalls Wilder. The near impossibility of protecting precious things. To my mind Ellman has accomplished nothing short of putting an end to dismissively labeling fiction about domesticity “women’s fiction.” I loved it.
joeduncan's review against another edition
5.0
Big big fan of this one. Formally, it's monumental, but it's successful beyond that. I spent the better part of a year reading it, but largely due to the fact that this book rewards a slow pace. It's expressive and intimate and trickles over 1000 pages through the obscure details, memories and fears of a midwestern baker. Gonna be a favorite of the year.